Taller
by TailFear
Summary: She's the most troublesome woman in the world, but she's worth it, even if she does beat him up...[One-Shot]ShikaTem


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, and probably never will.

**Taller**  
By: TailFear 

**One-shot**

He'd known immediately when she'd appeared in the village, even though he'd been cloud watching in the deer paddock behind his home. Even when he could hear her coming from down the street he didn't get up, it wasn't worth the trouble. She was loud, always had been, and was always good about making her presence felt when she wanted to be noticed, especially by him.

Her footsteps faded until they were nearly silent as she reached the paddock, making only a small thump as she jumped the paddock fence. He frowned at her as her shadow fell over his face, blocking out the sun and part of his sky.

"Hey, Crybaby. What's up?"

He sighed, looking up into her cheerful tanned face framed by four blonde pig-tails. She hadn't dropped her nickname for him even though he was no longer twelve and still held a higher rank.

"You're blocking the sky."

That really got her. She puffed up and fumed, clenching her fists and narrowing her eyes until he thought she'd burst with anger. It always got her when he did that. She'd come all the way out to the edge of the village to see him and he'd tell her that she was blocking his view of the sky, and she would fume for a while until she either figured out that he was kidding or beat him into the ground to make herself happy.

He cursed as a rock hit him hard on the forehead, sitting up and rubbing his injured head while squinting at the angry blonde.

"Shit! What was that for, Temari?"

He'd learned by now not to mutter about how troublesome women were in front of her when she was angry, even though she always proved his theories right. Her face was turning a shade of red that made him wary, especially with how angrily her eyes were flashing.

"You are such an asshole, Shikamaru!" her voice had risen with her fury as she rounded upon the unfortunate male, arms and legs spread akimbo. "I get a messenger mission, that is way below my abilities, by the way, just to come see you, and all you ever do is say that I block the sky! Why the hell should I even bother?"

Shikamaru looked up at Temari as she towered over him, hurt and anger plain on her face. With a sigh he pushed himself to his feet, still rubbing his forehead from where she had hit him earlier.

"Hey, hey. Don't say that," he whispered, grabbing onto her upper arms with both hands to keep her from moving away.

Behind his bored tone and rolling dark eyes Temari could see his sincerity and the momentary panic that he generally hid. As he pulled her forward he noticed that he had grown since the last time he'd seen her. He was finally taller than the blonde, something that he'd been hoping for since she'd joked about his height years ago.

"Sheesh, you are so troublesome," he murmured, pulling her against him and wrapping his arms around her slim waist.

Temari let out a small laugh and hit him before settling into his embrace, smiling contently as she buried her cheek into his shoulder. He rolled his eyes again at her abrupt mood change, but hugged her tightly, resting his cheek against her blonde hair.

"You know, now that you're taller, it looks like you're the freak," Temari quipped, eyes sparkling up into Shikamaru's as she smirked.

Shikamaru sighed, remembering the beating that he had gotten for calling her a freak for being so tall, "Thank you so much for the compliment."

"Aww, you know you love me," Temari wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself up high enough so that she could rub her cheek against his, laughing at the stubble rubbing against her cheek.

"That's the only reason I put up with you," he replied, letting her amuse herself with his lack of shaving.

When she was done he plopped himself back onto the ground and laid back. She sat next to him, hands keeping herself propped up as she tilted her head back, hair falling partially over her shoulders. Together they watched clouds streak across the sky, talking occasionally as the day drew on, the sun slowly setting.

"Hey, Crybaby," she drew his attention to her smiling face that was turned a deep bronze color by the setting sun.

"Eh?" he asked, still partially watching the sky.

"You'd better not tell me that I'm blocking the sky again."

He snorted and smiled as she playfully swatted at him, quieting down enough to watch the sun start falling below the horizon. For Shikamaru, it was worth it, even if she was the most troublesome woman he'd ever met.


End file.
